SEC & Justin Sun Settle – $10M to Close 3-Year Case The SEC and Tron founder Justin Sun have settled, ending a lawsuit that had been hanging over the Tron ecosystem since March 2023. Under the terms of the deal, Rainberry Inc., a Sun-controlled company behind the @BitTorrent protocol, will pay a $10M civil penalty, while all remaining claims against Sun personally, the @trondao, and the BitTorrent Foundation are dismissed with prejudice. The original lawsuit accused Sun of illegally generating $31M by directing employees to conduct hundreds of thousands of wash trades between accounts he controlled, creating a false impression of legitimate trading activity. Sun and his companies did not admit or deny wrongdoing as part of the settlement. On X, @justinsuntron wrote: "Today's resolution brings closure, but I never stopped building. I will continue to focus on accelerating innovation in the United States and around the world." For the broader crypto industry, this settlement sends a clear signal: the "regulation by enforcement" era in the U.S. is fading. With the Trump administration pushing to make the country a global crypto hub, the SEC appears to be clearing its docket rather than fighting high-profile battles in court.